Daily Content Archive
(as of Wednesday, October 17, 2018)| Word of the Day | |||||||
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dropsy
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| Daily Grammar Lesson | |
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Collective Adjectives and Verb TenseCollective adjectives are a subgroup of nominal adjectives, or adjectives that act as nouns. They are used to refer to a group of people based on a characteristic that they share. What verb forms do collective adjectives have to take? More... | |
| Article of the Day | |
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 The Predestination ParadoxA predestination paradox is a scenario in which a time traveler seeking to alter the past inadvertently plays a role in bringing about the same future, thus creating a loop of events that "predestines" him to travel back in time yet again. This concept, often utilized in science-fiction works, appears in an episode of The Twilight Zone in which a man goes back in time and tries to prevent a fire but instead knocks over the lamp that causes it. What are some other examples of this paradox? More... | |
| This Day in History | |
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 The First British Open Is Held in Scotland (1860)The Open Championship of the British Isles, or the Open, is the oldest and one of the most prestigious golf championship tournaments in the world. It began in 1860 at Scotland's Prestwick course and is now rotated among select courses in England and Scotland. The first tournament was won by Willie Park, who also recorded the tournament's highest single-hole stroke total—21. Though today the Open has a multimillion-dollar prize fund, there was no prize money initially. Instead, Park won what? More... | |
| Today's Birthday | |
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 Robert Craig "Evel" Knievel (1938)Knievel was an American daredevil and icon of the 1970s. He began doing motorcycle stunts as a teenager, then embarked on an incredibly varied career that included professional hockey, a stint in the army, work in copper mines, and eventually crime—safecracking and holdups. In 1965 he "went straight" and took up performing dangerous and thrilling stunts, which did not always go smoothly and eventually earned him the record for most broken bones in a lifetime. What canyon did Knievel try to jump? More... | |
| Quotation of the Day | |
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 Curiosity is natural to the soul of man, and interesting objects have a powerful influence on our affections.John Filson (1747-1788) | |
| Idiom of the Day | |
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dodge a bullet— To narrowly avoid something or some situation that turns out to be undesirable, disastrous, dangerous, or otherwise harmful. More... | |
| Today's Holiday | |
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 Burgoyne's Surrender Day (2019)British General John Burgoyne (1722-1792) is best remembered for his defeat by the colonial American forces in the Saratoga campaign of 1777, during the Revolutionary War. The Americans' victory gave them a psychological advantage and persuaded France to ally itself with the colonists against England, its traditional rival. The anniversary of Burgoyne's surrender is observed in New York State, particularly in the communities surrounding the Saratoga National Historical Park near Stillwater, New York. More... | |
| Word Trivia | |
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Today's topic: reducediminish - A blend of diminue, "speak disparagingly," and minish, "reduce in amount, degree, influence, power." More... formulate - Can mean "reduce to a formula." More... moderate - Etymologically, it means "keep within due measure," and is derived from Latin moderari or moderare, "control, reduce." More... minimize - Means to reduce to an absolute minimum—not to play down or soften. More... | |